Blogs I Follow

Categories

Month: April 2017

Have you ever thought you knew just exactly where God was taking you and before you knew it, you were nowhere near that place? Maybe you can see it coming and it looks so “good”, it looks so “right” and it just “makes sense” that that’s the door which will open and you shall walk through it and you shall be light and salt and you shall be ever so pleasing to the Lord but before you know it, you are nowhere near that door you were waiting to open for you? In fact, you aren’t even in the same building.

I hit a cross roads a few years ago in my life. That sweet space where my children were outgrowing their need for me and I had some options about how I was going to spend the rest of my working days. I went back to school, started working in a profession I had always wanted to try, and found after a couple of years in that it wasn’t where I wanted to spend the next 15+ years.

So…alas I was at another cross roads. That occupation was reaching a place where I could place a period or a comma and after praying and searching my heart I decided to put a period. It was the right move, it just caused my life to hit return a couple of times so that a new paragraph could start.

This is where I thought I knew what to do next. Ha!

After much prayer and seeking counsel from those who know me best, I realized that I could best serve God in a corporate environment. Send me Lord! I’ll be salt and light and I’m old enough now that I know what I believe and why I believe it and you can really use me out there in the world. I’m ready to go!

His purpose prevails. Ya’ll that is GOOD news!

After multiple job applications were filled out, recommendations were made on my behalf at several locations and interviews were even had, it became evident that I had it all wrong. Frankly, I was exhausted at the amount of time I was spending trying to figure out which direction to place my efforts and I had made the decision to just sit tight and wait on the Lord. Did you hear me say I was exhausted??

Within 48 hours of deciding to sit tight, my phone rang with an opportunity I DID NOT GO LOOKING FOR to work where I NEVER THOUGHT I’D BE to do things I’VE NEVER DONE with people I DID NOT KNOW. Instead of getting all nervous and anxious about this, I GOT EXCITED!! It was a choice I had to make early on as my guts were dying to twist up inside of me but I told them NO (sometimes we have to remind our guts who’s really in charge)!!

It was obvious God had orchestrated this opportunity and following Him along on this ride called life is exciting! It’s exciting because no matter how high up the coaster track He takes us, He is right there with us and has nothing in mind but to take us places that are for our good and His glory! I knew I was right where He would have me be and there is no better feeling than when we grasp and sense that He has plans for us that He intends to follow through with, no matter how hard we work to figure them out for ourselves. No better feeling.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

I thought I’d work out in the public, I now work with a bunch of Christians.

I thought I’d work in my hometown, I now work 25 minutes away.

I thought I’d be using my post-high school education, that’s gone out the window.

I thought I had a grasp on where I was headed. No.

One thing Christians can count on is that following Jesus is ALWAYS…interesting.

How about you? Has there been a time in your life that you fought hard to stay on First Avenue but in hindsight, you ended up on West 53rd Street? Did you clamor to stay in that relationship and ultimately end up single and happier than you’ve ever been? Have you stressed yourself out over an unexpected move or an unseen lay-off and later found that God had you the whole time? That He actually knew what He was doing? Even though He tells us He has good for us, did you doubt His plan?

I ask these questions because I’ve been a Christ follower for a long time. You would think that by now this question of whether or not He is ultimately in control and has my good in mind would’ve been settled a long time ago. I’m here to tell you that I have to re-learn it from time to time.

Been there?

I have story after story over my life that I can look back and see the providence of God even though I was a nervous wreck and each time I reflect on those times, I tell myself to chill out! Not to let myself get knocked off my feet so easily when the unexpected comes.

That He’s got this.

I must have some chill.

We must have some chill.

Know what I mean?

If I put my child into a new school system because I know it’s the best place for them, I want them to trust my actions and walk in with a fresh hair cut and a smile, not sweaty palms and a doubting attitude of my love for them.

If my child wants 30 people to show up for their birthday party and only 8 come, I want him to embrace those 8 and take advantage of the smaller crowd. Get to know the ones who came and trust that those were the friends meant to be there.

If my grown child is looking for a job, I want them to talk to their heavenly father daily about it, get out there and push on doors, and trust that the right job will open up at the right time. In the meantime, maybe use their spare time to grow closer to God, to invest in some relationships or take on a DIY project.

I get it, it’s easier said than done. I just lived through this. But, can we do this? Can we trust Him a little more today than yesterday? Can we look back at the stories of His faithfulness in our lives and make the decision to believe that HE’S GOT THIS? Can we do these things with some chill?

I’m going to try better next time. Less worry, more thankfulness through the process.

One thing I know too, no matter how well or horrible I do this, I will be met with grace. When our motives are in the right place, He parents us with gentleness.

Kellie

Share this:

Like this:

Recently I wrestled with knowing God can but not knowing if He would (fill in the blank). I caught myself wanting to “name it and claim it” when I was unsure of what God was doing.

And I’m NEVER sure of what He is doing. He doesn’t inform like that. Not typically.

If I’m being honest, it messed with me. Big. Time. I’ve struggled with this before but after this go around…I think I just might, just maybe, possibly be learning something about placing my faith soley and simply in one place. No matter the situation.

Doesn’t that sound so simple? Placing our faith in only one thing? Isn’t that like God? To love us so much as to not make things too complicated for us?

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!…”

I John 3:1

The definition of faith according to Merriam Webster is this:

a(1): belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2): belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion

b(1): firm belief in something for which there is no proof clinging to the faith that her missing son would one day return(2): complete trust

Faith-I see nothing here that says that our believing will accomplish anything tangible. What I see is that to have faith is to simply believe. The crisis comes when we try to spread our belief all around instead of keeping it concentrated on HIM.

The Bible tells us in Hebrews “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” NIV or “The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.” The Message

This confidence…hope…assurance…trust

Somehow we’ve convinced ourselves that these precious expressions of our faith are to be placed in that we see in front of us. That if we wrap up our desires in fancy words then what we are so focused on will simply come to pass because we believe it will. That this is how faith is played out, expressing a sense of done-ness to that thing that we want done and telling God at the end of our sentence, that since we’ve got faith, it shall be done.

Wrong.

We’ve lost our focus.

That thing or this person or the situation has taken over our vision. It has consumed us and distracted us from the One who has all of it in His hands. We’ve got to turn our necks back up. That’s where we are to place our faith. Not in anything we can see, but in the One who is invisible.

Enter crisis.

Merriam Webster defines crisis as this:

a: an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending; especially: one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome a financialcrisisthe nation’s energy crisis

b: a situation that has reached a critical phase the environmental crisisthe unemployment crisis

This is where we can have a crisis of faith. We’ve all been there. I was just there recently.

Twisted guts, headaches, even nausea. I love God. I believe in Him. I believe He will allow only what is good for Him and me to occur in my life. But the crisis, the sense of urgency in my circumstances, were a huge distraction for me. They took my eyes off of the One who has it all under control and had my mind racing over things that I had very little control over.

Wow! Do you see it? I had put myself front and center of my little world leaving myself exposed for the enemy to come in and knock me out at the knees!

Been there? Yeah, not a great place to be.

Honestly, this is selfish thinking. Who am I to believe that this thing that I need will be done to the degree in which I have faith?

Crisis. This is part of life. A cycle that will come and go. Oh, you may not experience the same one over and over again but they will come. They will be hurled your way from every direction until you die. Guarantee it! And your faith will be tested. And sometimes you’ll pass the test. And sometimes you won’t.

The goal is to move our necks upward, even if they’re stiff from the stress and knotted muscles, and keep our gaze on the only One that deserves to have our faith placed in it. Our eyes aren’t made to look two directions at one time. One way. Fix them there.

He loves us ladies. And He has nothing left to prove to us. He’s done that already. Let’s cheer each other on to keep our faith, our belief that “HE CAN”, front and center and the question of “but WILL He?” linger in the background so that it doesn’t trip us up.

Faith is a loaded word and can be an ongoing conversation…would love to hear from you on this. What helps to build your faith? How would you define what faith is?